Utilizing a Right and Left Outer Joins in same SELECT [on hold]
I am looking to better build my SQL Development skill set. Where I work currently most all the data fits into a hierarchy and we almost always start with the top most element to work our way "down". This results in really only needing to use INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins for the various queries.
I am hoping to get some guidance on a situation where I might need to use a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN in the same query.
Referencing a previous question on StackOverflow What is the difference between Left, Right, Outer and Inner Joins? I understand what a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN is, however all problems I have been asked to solve, could be solved using only INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins.
EDIT:
I did find that this is basically a duplicate of a previous StackOverflow question When or why would you use a right outer join instead of left?. It would appear that in general there is a consensus that
- Most all queries using a
RIGHT OUTER JOIN
can be converted into an
INNER
andLEFT OUTER
version. - There are some benefits for
read-ability formatting or organizational processes which might
require using aRIGHT OUTER
instead of aLEFT OUTER
.
There is also an answer on that question which details a particular situation where you would INNER JOIN
a group of tables together and then RIGHT OUTER JOIN
to find where the "right" table has records in the whole INNER JOIN
'ed subset. I think this can be accomplished with an INNER JOIN
and LEFT OUTER JOIN
version it would just require some work.
sql-server
put on hold as too broad by MDCCL, Erik Darling, mustaccio, McNets, LowlyDBA 7 hours ago
Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
add a comment |
I am looking to better build my SQL Development skill set. Where I work currently most all the data fits into a hierarchy and we almost always start with the top most element to work our way "down". This results in really only needing to use INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins for the various queries.
I am hoping to get some guidance on a situation where I might need to use a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN in the same query.
Referencing a previous question on StackOverflow What is the difference between Left, Right, Outer and Inner Joins? I understand what a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN is, however all problems I have been asked to solve, could be solved using only INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins.
EDIT:
I did find that this is basically a duplicate of a previous StackOverflow question When or why would you use a right outer join instead of left?. It would appear that in general there is a consensus that
- Most all queries using a
RIGHT OUTER JOIN
can be converted into an
INNER
andLEFT OUTER
version. - There are some benefits for
read-ability formatting or organizational processes which might
require using aRIGHT OUTER
instead of aLEFT OUTER
.
There is also an answer on that question which details a particular situation where you would INNER JOIN
a group of tables together and then RIGHT OUTER JOIN
to find where the "right" table has records in the whole INNER JOIN
'ed subset. I think this can be accomplished with an INNER JOIN
and LEFT OUTER JOIN
version it would just require some work.
sql-server
put on hold as too broad by MDCCL, Erik Darling, mustaccio, McNets, LowlyDBA 7 hours ago
Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
and aLEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".
– MDCCL
15 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago
add a comment |
I am looking to better build my SQL Development skill set. Where I work currently most all the data fits into a hierarchy and we almost always start with the top most element to work our way "down". This results in really only needing to use INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins for the various queries.
I am hoping to get some guidance on a situation where I might need to use a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN in the same query.
Referencing a previous question on StackOverflow What is the difference between Left, Right, Outer and Inner Joins? I understand what a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN is, however all problems I have been asked to solve, could be solved using only INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins.
EDIT:
I did find that this is basically a duplicate of a previous StackOverflow question When or why would you use a right outer join instead of left?. It would appear that in general there is a consensus that
- Most all queries using a
RIGHT OUTER JOIN
can be converted into an
INNER
andLEFT OUTER
version. - There are some benefits for
read-ability formatting or organizational processes which might
require using aRIGHT OUTER
instead of aLEFT OUTER
.
There is also an answer on that question which details a particular situation where you would INNER JOIN
a group of tables together and then RIGHT OUTER JOIN
to find where the "right" table has records in the whole INNER JOIN
'ed subset. I think this can be accomplished with an INNER JOIN
and LEFT OUTER JOIN
version it would just require some work.
sql-server
I am looking to better build my SQL Development skill set. Where I work currently most all the data fits into a hierarchy and we almost always start with the top most element to work our way "down". This results in really only needing to use INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins for the various queries.
I am hoping to get some guidance on a situation where I might need to use a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN in the same query.
Referencing a previous question on StackOverflow What is the difference between Left, Right, Outer and Inner Joins? I understand what a RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER
JOIN is, however all problems I have been asked to solve, could be solved using only INNER
and LEFT OUTER
joins.
EDIT:
I did find that this is basically a duplicate of a previous StackOverflow question When or why would you use a right outer join instead of left?. It would appear that in general there is a consensus that
- Most all queries using a
RIGHT OUTER JOIN
can be converted into an
INNER
andLEFT OUTER
version. - There are some benefits for
read-ability formatting or organizational processes which might
require using aRIGHT OUTER
instead of aLEFT OUTER
.
There is also an answer on that question which details a particular situation where you would INNER JOIN
a group of tables together and then RIGHT OUTER JOIN
to find where the "right" table has records in the whole INNER JOIN
'ed subset. I think this can be accomplished with an INNER JOIN
and LEFT OUTER JOIN
version it would just require some work.
sql-server
sql-server
edited 14 hours ago
Kirk Saunders
asked 15 hours ago
Kirk SaundersKirk Saunders
584
584
put on hold as too broad by MDCCL, Erik Darling, mustaccio, McNets, LowlyDBA 7 hours ago
Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
put on hold as too broad by MDCCL, Erik Darling, mustaccio, McNets, LowlyDBA 7 hours ago
Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
and aLEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".
– MDCCL
15 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago
add a comment |
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
and aLEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".
– MDCCL
15 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use aRIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".– MDCCL
15 hours ago
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
and a LEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".– MDCCL
15 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In practice you never need to use a RIGHT JOIN, and I can't think of a scenario where I would want to.
Any query involving RIGHT JOINs that can't be trivially transformed into a query using only LEFT JOINs should probably be burned with fire.
You can solve almost any problem using a pipeline of CTEs, each of which uses 0 or more INNER JOINs followed by 0 or more LEFT JOINs.
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
In practice you never need to use a RIGHT JOIN, and I can't think of a scenario where I would want to.
Any query involving RIGHT JOINs that can't be trivially transformed into a query using only LEFT JOINs should probably be burned with fire.
You can solve almost any problem using a pipeline of CTEs, each of which uses 0 or more INNER JOINs followed by 0 or more LEFT JOINs.
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
add a comment |
In practice you never need to use a RIGHT JOIN, and I can't think of a scenario where I would want to.
Any query involving RIGHT JOINs that can't be trivially transformed into a query using only LEFT JOINs should probably be burned with fire.
You can solve almost any problem using a pipeline of CTEs, each of which uses 0 or more INNER JOINs followed by 0 or more LEFT JOINs.
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
add a comment |
In practice you never need to use a RIGHT JOIN, and I can't think of a scenario where I would want to.
Any query involving RIGHT JOINs that can't be trivially transformed into a query using only LEFT JOINs should probably be burned with fire.
You can solve almost any problem using a pipeline of CTEs, each of which uses 0 or more INNER JOINs followed by 0 or more LEFT JOINs.
In practice you never need to use a RIGHT JOIN, and I can't think of a scenario where I would want to.
Any query involving RIGHT JOINs that can't be trivially transformed into a query using only LEFT JOINs should probably be burned with fire.
You can solve almost any problem using a pipeline of CTEs, each of which uses 0 or more INNER JOINs followed by 0 or more LEFT JOINs.
edited 14 hours ago
answered 15 hours ago
David Browne - MicrosoftDavid Browne - Microsoft
11.9k729
11.9k729
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
add a comment |
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
I hit one once a long time ago; some horrible nasty combination of RIGHT JOIN and NOT IN clauses that was not transformable. I forget exactly what the concoction was. Incidentally, SQL server can't do a right loop join but must hash join the thing.
– Joshua
10 hours ago
1
1
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
Not to worry, it's not in production anymore (if it ever was).
– Joshua
10 hours ago
add a comment |
You should describe the "situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
and aLEFT OUTER JOIN
in the same query".– MDCCL
15 hours ago
@MDCCL That is what the question is. Can we provide guidance on when this would ever be required?
– Martin Smith
14 hours ago
@MartinSmith So that means that the OP wants someone to describe such a situation, that is, provide an example? I'm interpreting the issue as something like "I'm involved in a situation where I might need to use a
RIGHT OUTER
... in the same query, so I want guidance on it", but it looks like you are understanding the question correctly.– MDCCL
14 hours ago
@kirk Could you confirm Martin's interpretation?
– MDCCL
14 hours ago
Martin does have the correct interpretation, however I can see how my phrasing would indicate the version that MDCCL came to. I apologize for the poor phrasing. I don't currently have a situation where I might need both. I am looking for an example where I might so that I can improve my skillset. And prevent myself from trying to solve all problems one way. The whole idea of "if you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
– Kirk Saunders
14 hours ago